The Netherlands were left on the brink of elimination after Namibia sealed a stunning come-from-behind six-wicket win. David Wiese led the surprise attack on Netherlands’ bowlers with a 40-ball 66 to lead Namibia past the finish line at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, picking up their first-ever win in a T20 World Cup. Having set Namibia 165 to win, the Dutch bowlers picked up early wickets, but couldn’t find answers to the middle order’s riposte. If Sri Lanka go on to beat Ireland, Namibia will have to win their final match against Ireland to progress to the Super 12 stage.

How did Namibia start in the chase?

They had a lukewarm powerplay with 41 on the board for the loss of Zane Green. After a brief blitz from the openers upfront, Netherlands pulled things back a tad bit. A poor shot from Craig Williams and Stephan Baard falling in the next over pegged Namibia back as Netherlands gained momentum. Wickets in successive overs had Namibia on 68 for 3 at the halfway stage.

How did they turn the game around from there?

The next 18 balls, Namibia scored as many as 46 runs on the back of a fearless counterattack from Gerhard Erasmus and Wiese. Netherlands’ bowlers were punished for bowling regularly in Wiese’s arc, and continued to bowl to him in the slot, who brought his experience to the fore. Wiese made the most of it, belting five sixes and four fours in his 40-ball unbeaten stay. He added 93 runs in just 51 balls with skipper Erasmus, who fell after a 22-ball 32. The captain was happy to play second fiddle to an on-song Wiese, who attacked from the outset. He exploited the shorter boundary and picked the right side for his runs that were coming thick and fast. From being favourites to pick up a win by a big margin, the Dutch were gasping for survival with boundaries raining in Abu Dhabi. Wiese raced to a fifty in 29 balls bringing down the equation to 30 required in 4 overs.

The equation was down to 20 runs in 19 balls before Erasmus fell and a good 18th over from Fred Klaassen, that conceded just 4, had Namibia requiring 15 off 12. But they would’ve been confident with Wiese still in the middle. Eventually, it was back-to-back boundaries from JJ Smit that sealed the game with an over to spare.

How was Namibia’s start after opting to bowl?

Namibia recognised Max O’Dowd’s weakness against spin and attacked him with it in the opening over. Yet, Netherlands’ openers gave the side a solid start making the most of the fielding restrictions putting up 45 on the board. They would’ve been the happier side had they not lost Stephan Myburgh in the final over of the powerplay because one brought another for Namibia. Roelof van der Merwe fell to fellow South African David Wiese to a short ball.

How did Netherlands recover from the double blow?

Thanks to a superb stand between Max O’Dowd and Colin Ackermann for the third wicket. O’Dowd carried along and played a pivotal innings to keep Namibia at bay alongside Ackermann, who took his time to settle in. O’Dowd was handed plenty of reprieves in the form of dropped catches and missed run-out chances, and he made sure to make the most out of it getting to successive half-centuries in 42 balls. Ackermann hit Jan Frylinck for a six in the 18th over to get a move on but fell soon after, as the 82-run stand in 62 balls came to an end. Frylinck returned 2-36, while the other bowlers were a touch expensive.

Brief scores: Netherlands 164/4 in 20 overs (Max O’Dowd 70, Colin Ackermann 35; Jan Frylinck 2-36) lost to Namibia 166/4 in 19 overs (Gerhard Erasmus 32, David Wiese 66*) by 6 wickets.

RELATED STORIES